Our Story

We believe in providing gentlemen with simple, craft-made shave and care products. Started at the acclaimed Virile Barber & Shop - Virile Heart + Heritage is at it's core an genuine effort to have products that rise to the historical and cultural expectations of the tonsorial arts and traditions from which our founder, Adam Reyes is born - it is in that heritage that you will find our heart - hence our namesake. We strive to focus on what your skin and hair needs to be as healthy and manageable as possible - our products harken to a time of function and form over the mask of marketing.

At the original Virile Barber Shop in Waldwick, NJ - it is our goal to keep our members feeling clean, relaxed, and fulfilled. Whether you are maintaining the look of a corporate professional to a fashion conscious rebel, your experience here will guarantee the luxury you expect and the style you desire. As professional barbers and stylists we stay passionate about our field and expertise in order to keep you on top of the latest trends for men. So sit down, kick back, relax, and enjoy the decadence of male grooming.

Virile | Press Coverage

The Hair Product You Need for Slicked-Back, Summer Hair

GQ

Whether slicked back hair is your regular look, or you're just thinking of pulling the move for a special occasion, like the summertime barbecue you're hosting this month, you need the right product in order to pull it off and not look like Eric Trump. For many guys, particularly those with fine to medium thickness hair, that product is a weightless water-based pomade. Think of water-based pomade like hair gel without the heaviness (seriously, the canisters will surprise you with their weightlessness) or the helmet effect hair gel has when it dries. A water-based pomade doesn't impart quite as much shine and grease as an oil-based pomade, and provides more hold than a matte-finished paste. So, in summary, you get shine and hold without crunchiness or oiliness. READ MORE

The North’s All-Star Shops: Virile Barber and Shop

Badger Magazine

This barbershop operates on vintage. Clients enjoy cuts in a 1901 Koken barber chair, a whimsical tiled floor, and a gallery of antiques, including a 1927 National Cash Register. The place is elegant and edgy (think stylists in ties, white dress shirts and vests with sleeve tattoos). READ MORE

Better Business: Classic Services at the Virile Barber & Shop

American Salon

Classic barbering and quality service are at the heart of Virile Barber & Shop’s success.

Five years ago when Adam Reyes, owner of Virile Barber & Shop in Waldwick, NJ, began the planning phase of his dream shop, he envisioned a haven where he could submerge himself in the art of traditional barbering. Read More.

ABC's GMA Live

Check Virile out on ABC's Good Morning America's #GMALive! Where we brought some male appeal, hung with our friends Gio Benitez and Ginger Zee, and did a live hot towel demonstration along with discussing the shop and brand! Many thanks to BK of GMA Live and Dylan Wood for editing this together for us!

Men’s Grooming

When it comes to men’s grooming, where does one turn in order to determine the current gestalt? The rigorously art-directed heads topping the looks on the fashion runway or the hipster working behind the bar at the coffeehouse du jour? Last summer, all catwalks pointed to a resurgence of the beard, which civilians had already surmised from observing the aforementioned hipsters... READ MORE

VIRILE AND THE CUTTING EDGE AS POETRY

“My first shave was not pretty,” Adam Ramos recalls in stark black and white detail like a murder scene ina film noir. “The barber shuffled me into his chair without any sort of consultation. As he kicked theseat back, I closed my eyes and prayed for the best. His hand was a lead brick. He did a singlepass and some damage that left a couple scars.”Those same scars would pave the road to Virile Barber & Shop, a first-class tonsorial boutique firmly rooted in oldschool Americana with a bent toward early to mid-1900s culture. It’s a sanctuary of manhood, where everyday Joes can tread in, beat-down Neanderthals scourged by society and its weekly workday system, and saunter out feeling urbane and dignified, leaving the 9-to-5 o’clock shadows behind.

THE CUTTING-EDGE CAVALIER

'There is something incredibly invigorating to the heart and mind of any man experiencing the feel of a hot towel on a freshly shaven face. The exquisite precision simply cannot be replicated by the latest Razor4Dudes™ product endorsed by the sportsman du jour. The careful attention paid by the skilled barber, hand moving swiftly yet delicately, is unparalleled.

In this world of fast cars, fast food, and fast fashion, the experience between man and barber is a coveted luxury - nay, necessity. For a man like Adam Ramos, the oft-called antiquated world of barbering is very much a modern skill. "The hardest thing would probably be finding the right barbers to represent Virile," he says in response to the difficulties he faced setting up his barbershop. Ramos' twenty-five years of age belie the history of his profession of choice. "My mother was a barber and that's kind of where I got my background from. Basically her, and just being surrounded by the industry".

Manliest Barbershops in America

For some, grooming involves a disposable razor and a few Band-Aids. Virile's 48-step hot towel shave is more like a full spa experience. Clocking in anywhere between 30 and 50 minutes, this process is tailored to the client's facial hair, skin, and complexion. "It's a comprehensive service because skin is very comprehensive as well," says Adam Ramos, owner and master barber. While Ramos works his magic, clients can kick back in a 1901 Koken Barber Chair, admire some of the surrounding antiques (make sure to check out the 1927 National Cash Register), or enjoy a complimentary Flying Fish HopFish IPA, Remy Martin XO, and a cigar. (If this sounds like your kind of place, sign up for The Best Life Newsletter to have tips on wealth, investing, family, and relationships delivered to your inbox every week.)

Know before you go: The shop welcomes walk-ins, but fills up quickly. Consider calling first.

Corporate execs and fashion rebels alike will enjoy the array of services offered at this traditional but trendy barber shop. An Old World feel in a luxury setting allows men to relax and be pampered while they get a shave and a haircut. Check out the vapor shave, which is a combination of a shave and a facial at the same time.

Stylists at Virile are professionally trained in a full complement of barbering services, including beard and mustache trimming, threading, manicures, gray reduction and, of course, haircuts and head shaving.

TALK OF THE TOWN

BERGEN COUNTY | THE MAGAZINE

We would say this shop provides a genuine, old-school barber experience, but we doubt any barber shops of days past were this nice. The Virile Barber & Shop melds the ability to cut even the most modern of styles with personalized service and vintage flair — including turn-of-the-century barber chairs and a cash register from 1927. Have some time to spare? Settle in for a hot towel shave, which is tailored to your skin, hair, and complexion, and enjoy a glass of cognac, a craft beer, or cigar while the 30-45 minute service unfolds.